


bird's eye through the looking glass

by Alecellent



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Character Deaths, Ghosts babey!, M/M, Other magic-esque events but more following Life is Strange than Homestuck, Rated teen for language, life is strange au, tags to be added as the fic progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26219374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alecellent/pseuds/Alecellent
Summary: The body is discovered in mid autumn, soft rot in a junkyard.At first, you mistake it for a storm; so heavy in the sky it seems to steal your breath away. But you look closer- in the flashes of lightning, you see a curved beak, two claws, and a thousand red eyes."So it's a murder" you think.So it is.
Relationships: Aradia Megido & Karkat Vantas, Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, June Egbert & Dave Strider, Sollux Captor & Karkat Vantas
Comments: 13
Kudos: 28





	1. prologue: the untimely demise of aradia megido

**Author's Note:**

> He's been haunting my dreams at night  
> I've been bleeding from tripping in the dark  
> Trying to turn on the light  
> Holy Ghost - Modern Baseball

Karkat hadn’t been expecting much when Aradia had called him to join her on her little “adventure”. Beyond that fact that she had texted him to come to the scrapyard at just past midnight (on a school night no less!), Aradia had a habit of… _exaggerating_ , her findings. Not that he suspected she would think so, Karkat remained fairly certain that Aradia was genuinely fascinated by the cicada shells and whale bones she uncovered. But she would have to excuse him, if he was reluctant to feel the same. Though watching the small clock on the corner of his computer screen roll towards one, Karkat couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. After all, she _was_ his friend, her and all of her weird jars of dead animals. 

So if anyone was to catch him now, trodding halfway across town on some softhearted whim, they would have to excuse the bad attitude. It’s not like it wasn’t warranted.

The scrapyard lay a good five minute walk from Karkat’s own home which- while arguably not far- was a fair distance for such a small town. Besides, all midnight walks felt longer alone- particularly with the cold winds nipping at his skin- which, Karkat muses, is just another reason why this was a horrible decision on his part. He was certain that whatever Aradia had to show him, it could wait until he was better rested, but hell. He had already trekked most of the way there, and he had been meaning to find a time to go explore the old junkyard anyways. “Who are you _lying_ to” he grumbled under his breath “You would be at home, _asleep_ if it weren’t for your fucking conscience.” 

Turning the corner on the old abandoned plot, Karkat briefly considered heading back home. The towers of rusted cars and crates looked nigh foreboding in the dim autumnal moon, worn metal reflecting the meager light. Plus, he reasoned, he was almost an hour late; there would be no guarantee that Aradia was still waiting around for him, and wandering through some dimly lit junkyard for ten minutes looking for his friend that _could_ be hidden somewhere among the scrap sounded like the exact adventure that he would regret tomorrow, when he had to wake early for class. 

  


He could almost feel the migraine coming on.

  


But curse his good heart, he was already here, and if Aradia _did_ find something worth seeing, he would kick himself for leaving. 

Karkat sighed. God damnit, fine. He’d give himself _ten_ minutes to find her, but after that, he would go home, and text Aradia tomorrow morning, telling her he had fallen asleep.  
“Aradia! Hello? This had better be good.”

As he stepped into the rustyard, Karkat’s first impression is that he _really_ should have worn sturdier shoes. 

Whether it was the frequent rain, or the seaside waves, the dirt filling the lot had turned into a thick mud that squelched unpleasantly with each step he took. Combined with the dim light of his flashlight, and whatever ambient light filtered down from the moon, it was near impossible for him to see where he was going, much less find his friend. 

All in all, Karkat was only finding himself more and more convinced that he should have just turned tail and gone home when he had the chance. 

“Aradia? God damnit, this isn’t funny, we have _class_ tomorrow.” He lowered his voice, to a grumble “Stupid fucking mud makes it impossible to walk anywhere. I’m going to have shit all over my shoes for the rest of my life at this rate, and guess what! I’ll have absolutely nothing to show for it. Maybe a dead bird if I’m lucky. Hell! I deserve two dead birds at this point, with all the trouble I’m going through. Might actually be worth the _tetanus_ I’ll have after being in this rusty hellscape. God damnit. Aradia!!” 

Karkat raised his voice again, his call echoing off into the distance. “ _Fuck._ I would have just gone home if I knew she was just going to bail on me. Unless she’s playing some dumb prank… I didn’t think that something she would do, but who knows, I didn’t think _leaving_ was something she would do either, so really what do I know, and- _**shit!!**_ ” 

Karkat jumped back, as his foot sunk into a puddle in front of him. “ _God damnit **really??**_ These were my favorite shoes and now you’re telling me they’re covered in mud?”  
He sighed, wiping at them futilely, trying to save whatever he could from becoming completely stained. “I'll kill someone if they…” 

Karkat trailed off. While cleaning, his flashlight’s beam had caught his hand, where it shone, smudges of bright red coating his fingertips.  
“Oh fuck, fuck…” Karkat raised his flashlight higher, past his bloodstained shoes and the darkened puddle beneath his feet, and towards the darkness in front of him.

And on a moonlit autumnal night, Karkat stood alone in a scrapyard, the first to uncover the dead body of his friend, Aradia Megido.


	2. chapter one: courtship in the form of coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is why I have decided  
> To leave your house and home unhaunted  
> You don't need poltergeists for sidekicks
> 
> Ghosting - Mother Mother

You have to admit, for a Strider, your karma’s not that great.  
You’ve never helped an old lady across the road, you often pirate your favorite songs instead of buying, and once when you were eight, you accidentally stepped on your neighbor’s dog’s tail. But even then, you figure that waking up late for class, sprinting halfways across campus, and slamming into some kid in your rush, well. That was a string of fate too cruel for you to deserve.

It doesn’t change the fact that you’re currently facing down some kid with a ruined shirt (and shit, was he carrying coffee?), who’s looking at you like you’re the scum on the bottom of his shoe.

“Uh. Yo?”

“Yo? Really? That’s all you have to say after you make me spill coffee all over my shirt?” 

Shit. The kid’s more pissed than you expected, otherwise he just has no concept of an inside voice. “To be fair, bro? It’s not like that was part of my mornin’ plans either. I don’t exactly gotta script for these things. Tell ya what, if you drop the ‘kicked puppy’ look, I’ll buy you a new cup. Not sure what to do about the shirt, but hey. Never claimed to be a miracle worker.”

He gives you a look. “And why would you do that, exactly?”

“Gimme some credit dude, I’m not a total ass. Are you gonna take me up on that offer or what?”

He checks his phone, and throws his hands up in a huff “You know what? Fine. My class is in a half hour. But I’m buying whatever’s most expensive”

“Yeah yeah, fine. Gotta treat a lady nice before you court her, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but as long as I’m not late, sure”

“No, you won’t be, I promise-” and shit.

Class.

Fuck it. You’re already late. What’s another few minutes.

* * *

Turns out, whatever-his-name-is wasn’t joking about the most expensive drink. He orders some double loaded chocolate drink that makes your head spin (and it’s _not_ just due to the price tag, thank you very much), and you wince as the kid takes his first sip.

“Dude, I’m not gonna tell you what to do, but that looks like it could kill you.”

“Good. About time I got out of bio.” He takes another long draw from his cup, then eyes you warily. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

You’re very aware that you’re exactly 23 minutes late to class. 

“No.”

“Good for you. Is there any reason you’re still hanging around here, or are you just waiting to find another person to knock over.”

“Caught me, bro” you spread your hands in a mock bow “I’m just waitin’ here for my next vic, tryin’a bankrupt myself in the most braindead way possible.”

He snorts. “Well, it worked well enough for me. I have a lecture in about five minutes, but if you want me to pay you back for that cup of coffee, I can give you my number.”

“Your number? On the first date? Dude, save that until the third at least, when we start mackin’ down. You can’t rush this shit.”

“Shut up” he rolls his eyes “Do you want my number or not?”

You pause. You weren’t planning on seeing this kid again after this, and honestly you’re still not sure you will. But that coffee really _was_ expensive, and honestly you wouldn’t mind pulling the same shit on him, even if it means you’ll be known to him as the clumsy jackass.

“Yeah, sure man. Here.” You pass him your phone, and watch as he types in his number, and labels the contact.

“Don’t mention it. Seriously, don’t. I might just vomit.” He checks his phone again, and swears. “Fuck. I really need to go. I’ll talk to you some other time”

You stand mutely, watching as he hurries out the door, and it swings shut behind him.  
You’re still holding your phone.  
“Karkat Vantas, huh?” you mutter, looking down at your new contact. “Nice to meet you too.”  


* * *

Fuck. Fuck. Stupid fucking Karkat. Did you seriously just give your number to the _random boy who made you spill coffee on your shirt?_ You’ve made dumb decisions before but this has _got_ to be the abso-fucking-worst. The star on your crowning pile of shit. Your magnum opus of reigning bad decisions. Kanaya’s going to laugh at you.

Fuck.

To be fair, it’s not your fault! You didn’t ask for some lanky asshole in shades to barrel you over, and you certainly didn’t ask for him to buy you coffee. And just standing there in the coffee shop drinking your coffee (that was _way_ too hot to drink, there’s mistake number two, Vantas) was so _uncomfortable_ in silence, that you had to say something.

It just turns out that that something just turned out to be _accidently asking some stranger out on a date_. You don’t even know his _name_! And now you’re about to be late to class, and you have coffee on your shirt, and you can try to hide it, but you know you’re just _red_.

You slide in the doors, just a few minutes before the lecture starts, and drop your laptop down next to Kanaya. She looks up at you in interest.

“Karkat. Where were you? I was under the impression that you may have been ill today.”

“Some asshole bumped into me when I was heading to class. He bought me coffee.” You lift your cup, to punctuate your sentence.

“I suppose that explains the second of my questions, then.”

“Astute as always, Kan.”

“I do try.” She smiles. “That alone, however, would not have been sufficient to make you quite so late. Do you have anything else that you would like to say?”

You flush deeper. She maintains that proper smile, tinged just slightly at the edges by unrepentant glee.

“I talked with him.”

“And?”

“He was very irritating.”

“How unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate indeed.”

She keeps smiling at you with that half hysteric smile, and you bury your face in your hands.

“... _Alright god damnit, fine, I gave him my number._ ” 

You put your head down with a heavy thump.

You were right. She laughs at you.  
\--------------  
After class, Kanaya tries to console you (I think that it is nice that you have a crush again! I am sure that he is simply a joy), but you can’t quite seem to convince her that you _don’t_ actually have a crush on the random stranger. Which you don’t! It’s not like you’ve known him very long, and you didn’t exactly get a chance to talk to him.  
Plus, you’re not even sure he’ll text you back. Which, speaking of…

TG: yo is this karkat

TG: it’s the dick who bumped into you and spilled coffee on your shirt

TG: (dave strider)

TG: oh shit i should’ve come up with some bullshit name

TG: ignore my last texts i just got some sicknasty concussion

TG: the name’s rick “shrek” astley, nice to meet you

You massage your temples and groan. Kanaya peers at your phone over your shoulder. 

“Who is it, Karkat?”

“The asshole who ran me over today. Dave” You roll your eyes.

“Well now. You should not keep him waiting, Karkat, that would be rude.”

You scowl at her.

CG: RICK ASTLEY

TG: that’s my name

CG: DO YOU THINK I’M A FUCKING IDIOT

TG: i didn’t, no, but if that’s what you’re into i’m sure i could pull something off

CG: FUCK OFF

TG: wait no shit

TG: seriously dude i texted you cause you offered me coffee

TG: don’t let my wonderful personality and singer songwriter skills distract you from that

TG: you owe me a five dollar nightmare

CG: FINE. WHEN ARE YOU AROUND? I HAVE CLASSES MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY, AND WORK ON WEEKENDS

TG: uhh i was thinking tonight maybe?

“Tonight?” Kanaya glances over at you and you wave her off.

CG: TONIGHT? ISN’T THAT LATE FOR COFFEE?

TG: well it doesn’t have to be coffee dude

TG: it’s your call, where the next stop is on this no homo train

TG: conductor’s waving us off but we’re too busy having a candlelit dinner at olive garden

TG: and he’s like

TG: read the room, it’s called the no homo train

TG: and we’re like nothing homo here sir just a couple bros sharing a dinner

TG: shit that actually sounds really gay

TG: okay wait back up

CG: YOU KNOW YOU’RE JUST DIGGING THE HOLE DEEPER, RIGHT?

TG: it’s a talent

TG: plus, you’re the one who gave me your number

Touche.

TG: seriously bro, where’re we goin

CG: UH, FUCK

CG: DINNER SOUNDS GOOD, HONESTLY. I’M GETTING SICK OF RAMEN. MAYBE I CAN MEET YOU AT MCDONALDS AT EIGHT?

TG: dope dude, i can get a kids meal and everything

TG: i wonder if they still give out toys

TG: oh shit like hotwheels

TG: fuck yeah man

CG: WILL THAT MAKE UP FOR THE COFFEE?

TG: hell yeah dude

TG: were doin this

TG: were makin it happen

: GREAT

CG: I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THAT MEANS

You pocket your phone, and Kanaya smiles demurely at you. “Have you finished making arrangements with David?”

“Fuck off, Kan. It’s not like that.”

“I have no idea what you are referring to. And you have not answered my question.”

“Yeah, I’m done making ‘arrangements’. We’re just grabbing dinner at McDonalds.”

“That does sound like quite a luxurious date. Do update us on your progress, yes?”

“ _It’s not a fucking-_ ” you sigh. “If I call it a date, will you leave me alone?”

Kanaya blinks innocently “Why of course.”

You close your eyes and tilt you head up. “Fine. It’s a _"date"_.”

She grins. “That is all I wanted to hear.”

You sigh. You’re never going to live this down.

* * *

You’ve shown up to McDonalds in a tee shirt and your best jeans. Which, you must admit, isn’t exactly a fashion statement- though in your defense, you’re still not sure this is even a date. The boy (Karkat, you remind yourself) shows up a few minutes late, and squints at you.

“Are you wearing sunglasses?”

“Always, bro”

“It’s 8:00 PM.”

“Being cool waits for no one.”

Karkat makes a face, but turns away from you to head inside, clearly ceeding to your superior debate skills. You trail in after him.

The cashier turns to look at you both as you enter. As you approach the register, she monotones “Welcome to McDonalds. What can I get for you.”

“Uh, can I get a…” shit. You’re not actually sure what you want. It’s not like you eat out often, but maybe you can get a kids meal and grab a pony toy for you Bro? Bro likes ponies right? Shit. Stay focused Dave.  
“... A chicken nuggets kid meal? For a girl?” 

The cashier looks at you, unfazed. “Is that it?”

“Yeah, man. That’s it.” You step back behind Karkat, and wait as he orders. You’re not actually sure if Bro’s going to like the toy. You’re also not sure if it’ll make up for the fact that you’ll be arriving an hour late for your daily strife. You’re hoping that the gesture will make up for you just up and bailing today, because you’ve had a killer headache for hours now, and if you end up strifing, you just know that you’ll get your ass handed to you on a puppet lined platter.

Not that that doesn’t happen every strife, but you can at least pretend to hang onto the last of your dignity.

Karkat’s finished ordering, and he’s moved off to the side to wait for your meals, which leaves you to pick a seat. You eye a booth near you- the table is suspiciously tacky with something that you pray is soda- and shrug slightly. If you were looking for a _good_ experience, you wouldn’t have gone to McDonalds at 8:00 PM. Sitting down, you pop an Ibuprofen, before shooting your Bro a message telling him you’ll be late. Neither will save you when it really comes down to it, but the illusion of safety counts for something.

You lie your head down on the table, and let your eyes close behind your shades. Under the glow of the florescent lights, you’ll take what you can get.  


* * *

You slide in next to Dave in the booth, “So I have to ask,” he lifts his head back up, making room for you to place both trays on the table, “why the kids meal?”

“Is it not enough to ironically love kids toys?”

“No.”

You squint at him, and he huffs in laughter. “Fair enough, dude. You _are_ paying. My Bro’s got this huge thing for like, horses or whatever. Ironically, of course. I just figured he’d be happy to get a…” he pulls out his toy and stares down at it. “Whatever the fuck this is. Anyways.” he tosses it back into his tray and grabs a fry. “My turn, is this your idea of a date or some shit? Cause that’s cool and everything but-”

“It’s not a date!” you shout. 

He raises an eyebrow at you. “Touchy. Don’t worry, my delicate feelings aren’t hurt.”

“Shit no, that’s no what I meant” you backtrack, “I have nothing against you, honest- my friends just keep asking and-”

You stop. Dave looks like he’s trying very hard not to laugh at you. “It’s cool dude, I’m just fucking with you. It doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to be.”

“It’s not that, I’d love for this to be a date but-”

Dave raises another eyebrow up at you. He’s openly smirking now.

You put your head down on the table. “This is just supposed to be a thank you for the coffee.”

“And what a thank you it is” He takes the opportunity to steal fries from your tray while you have your head down, dodging back as you try and wack his hand. “Seriously bro, this is fun. I think I saw go through all five stages of grief in what, ten seconds?”

“Shut up.” You lift your head back up. “If this is a "date", you at least owe me some facts about yourself. All I know right now is that your name is Dave, and you’re a clumsy asshole.”

“Okay hold up” he points at you with a fry “Lemme be clear that I’m not _always_ clumsy. Today was a one time thing, got it?”

“I’m not hearing a rebuttal for the asshole thing”

“That’s cause I don’t got one. But some facts about me… let’s see.” He takes a bite of his fry and chews contemplatively. “One, I’m a photography major. Gotta get that liberal arts degree, amirite. Two, I got an older bro, that’s what this is for.” He shakes his toy meaningfully. “And three, I’m probably the coolest motherfucker on this side of the universe, just after Bro.”

You scoff. “That’s bullshit.”

“You asked for facts, I gave you facts. It’s your turn, Mr. ‘It’s-not-a-date’”

“You’re just as bad as Kanaya” you scowl at him, “but fine.”

“One, my best friends are Kanaya, Sollux, and Terezi”

Dave glances about the room under his sunglasses.

“Two, I moved to Arcadia when I was twelve”

He scowls at something next to you.

“And three…”

You watch as he tilts his head, as if listening for something.

“Are you even listening to me? Or are you just staring off into space.” 

Dave looks up with a start, then smiles unconvincingly. “Nah, I’m listening, 100%, got my best pair of listening ears on and everything.” 

You squint. Since sitting down, Dave has gone from idly massaging his temples to holding his head in his hands, pulling his hair in a near death’s grip. 

“Are you sure? You look pale.” 

“Dude, lay off, I’m fine. Look, I just need some water or something-” His face suddenly goes slack. 

“Dave? Fuck, are you alright?” 

“ _There’s a killer in this school_ ”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Dave has whirled around to face you, head tilted as if seeing you for the first time. He speaks like he’s forgotten how to form words, speech distorted, crackling with radio static and something bitter. He opens his mouth again, as if to say more, before flinching hard, holding his head in his hands.

“Fuck.”

“What the fuck were you talking about, Dave. Are you okay?” You hover over him, hands opening and closing of their own volition.

Dave shakes his head, then winces “Yeah, it’s just this fucking headache, god-” he doubles over, hissing in pain. 

“Come on, let me walk you home.” 

You reach out a hand to him, finally finding something to do with your nervous energy. Dave looks up gratefully, and clutches your hand. “Thanks man. This would be a shit place to die.”  
He pulls himself to his feet woozily, food long forgotten, and as his grip tightens on your hand, you see--

Aradia in the scrap yard, hair unkempt, lying in a bloody heap under the October moon-

Aradia in her dark casket, eyes closed and deathly still-

Aradia, standing right in front of you, eyes hollow, face bloody, head tilted with that slight ghoulish smile.

“Hello Karkat” she says. “Did you get my message?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter one ! this is,, something ! not sure what the final word count or chapter count will be, but the basic plot is down. updates may be a bit slow, school just started up for me a couple of days ago (i'm.. actually supposed to be in class right now aslkdjfa, but it's virtual so my teachers'll just have to deal)
> 
> once again, please check out @rahafWabas on twitter and tumblr, her art is incredible and you should absolutely show her support ! i'll see y'all whenever the next update is !

**Author's Note:**

> so, this is something new for me! i rarely write story-stories, i normally just stick to prose or whatever bullshit i think is fun, so this'll be an experience for all of us lmao. the story will probably... not be like the other two fics i've written, but i hope you like it anyways !
> 
> this is a fic based on an au by @rahafWabas on twitter and tumblr, please check her out, her art is incredible ! the rough outline of this fic will draw from life is strange/the LiS universe, but there'll be some deviations based on the au/what i ended up misremembering or thinking was cooler. the story will start next chapter, thank you for reading!


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